Ice Skating
by Shiny Pichu-chan
Summary: one-shot; slight-AU; GrayxNatsu


"Natsu! Come on!"

This was the worst.

"Shut-up already! I'm getting there!"

But Natsu continued to stand there in the freezing snow, unmoving, as he glared down distastefully at the layer of ice before him. Mocking him. Much like how Gray was as he skated effortlessly on the frozen lake while laughing at the pink-haired teen.

"Just give it up Lucy!" Gray called to the blonde skating nearby him, "He's too scared to get on the ice."

"I ain't scared you bastard!" Natsu screamed from the edge of the frozen lake, "I just hate this sort of thing! It's freezing out here!"

Honestly, when Natsu had been invited by Erza for their group to all hang out after school at the park, he expected snowball fights. Something to get his blood pumping and heart racing. And so he could have the excuse to pummel Gray in a way that didn't get him in trouble with Erza.

But then said young woman had abruptly shown up with pairs of ice skates for everyone. He didn't know how she did it, but she did, and with everyone's exact shoe size. But Natsu wasn't too surprised. This was Erza after all. When she set her mind on something, anything was possible.

And the fact that this was the first time in years their town had gotten a winter cold enough to freeze the entire lake over with enough ice safe enough to skate on…that only fueled Erza's burning desire to be able to ice skate, which she had never done before.

That was how Natsu had been placed in this predicament. And there was no escape.

The only thing that made it all the more unbearable was that Natsu seemed to be completely isolated. As if there were two entirely different worlds; one on the ice, and the other off it. In between Lucy's coaxing to get Natsu to skate with them, Loki was circling her like a vulture, spouting out obnoxiously sweet lovey-dovey nonsense as usual to try and get the blonde to skate with him. Erza was off on her own doing spins and triple axles and things no normal person who claims to have never ice skated before should be able to do. But again, this was Erza. Meanwhile Mirajane and Elfman were off on their own, the girl looking like she was helping her brother balance correctly with his skates on the ice as they glided along hand in hand.

Then there was Gray. Always right at home during the winter. He had no trouble ice skating, of course, in fact being the only one who brought his own skates. And he was there on the frozen lake, skimming along by himself, switching from backwards to forwards, while looking over at Natsu on the sidelines from time to time to laugh to himself.

It made Natsu's blood boil.

But that left him stranded out in the snow, with no one to help him keep steady on the ice. Natsu knew even if he took one step onto that frozen deathtrap, he would slip and fall flat on his behind. The cold wasn't his thing. He hated ice. What the heck was so great about it anyway? He just didn't understand. It was cold and freezing and made you shiver and your teeth chatter. But to make things worse, he had to _skate _on it? Natsu didn't even understand how it was possible. It was solid ground yet horribly slippery. And people were expected to balance on something like that with such paper thin blades? The world was a very messed up place.

Natsu grabbed hold of his scarf to pull it up more over his face. He hated this. At least with snowball fights it involved vigorous movement. Enough to keep a person warm. But this way Natsu was a sitting duck. He was freezing.

Again his gaze trailed downward to stare at the layer of frozen ice before him.

Natsu let out a sigh of defeat, _'Might as well get this over with…'_

He took one step in the snow towards the frozen lake, wobbling a bit from the unsteady footing from wearing ice skates, and then another, now only one pace away from being on the ice.

Unbeknownst to Natsu, Gray had stopped skating, to watch Natsu down by the edge of the lake. With an unreadable expression, he stared as the other boy took a slow, hesitant step onto the ice, allowing the blade of the skates to slide back and forth a few times, as if to assure the ground wouldn't suddenly break into a million pieces. Gray smiled to himself in amusement as he watched Natsu fully step onto the ice…and instantly start flailing his arms around like a madman as he tried to keep his balance. He took a few very wobbly steps forward before gravity began to have its fun with him and cause Natsu to arch back as his legs finally slipped out from under him and he fell flat onto his back against the unforgiving ice floor.

Even Gray had to flinch as Natsu's head smacked into the ice, but he still couldn't help but laugh, even as he watched the other boy clutch at his no doubt throbbing head as he sat up and looked as if he were biting down a yelp of pain.

But what caused Gray to stop laughing was the surprising sight of Natsu getting up and trying again. Yet it ended with more or less the same result. But Gray didn't smile or laugh, because Natsu just got right up and tried again. Each time he was able to take a few clumsy half-steps and slides before he either fell forward or backwards. It was quite the sad sight. Gray doubted that even a child could do as badly as Natsu was.

After watching the sixth consecutive failure of moving more than two feet forward on the ice at a time, Gray took pity on the poor boy. Unable to contain at least a small smile of amusement, Gray glided along across the frozen lake to where Natsu was struggling to stand once again after another heavy wipeout.

He came to soft stop right in front of Natsu, who looked up at Gray with a mild look of surprise, before it formed into narrowed eyes and a scowl.

"You say anything and I'll break your jaw," he growled, finally getting back onto his feet.

But the moment was short lived, however, as the second Natsu seemed to get a good sense of balance on the ice, he lost it, and was thrown backwards once again to land flat on his behind.

And when Natsu expected the other to laugh again, he didn't. But as he looked up to see the utterly smug look on Gray's face, he almost wished he _would_ laugh. Just to get it over with.

"…Here," Gray said after a pause, and Natsu was stunned to see the other boy hold a hand to him.

Natsu smacked it away without hesitation, "How pathetic do you think I am?" he snapped, "I don't need any of your damn help!"

A bit taken aback by the heated refusal, Gray slid back and glared down distastefully at the other, forming a scowl of his own, "Che'…fine then! Keep falling down like an idiot for all I care!" he said as he spun on his heel, and began skating off back where he had come from, leaving Natsu sitting on the ice with a now very sore and cold behind….while a very small, _tiny _part of him _maybe _perhaps regretted not accepting the other's help.

However, pushing those disgusting thoughts to the very back of his mind, Natsu attempted to stand again with shaky legs, already worn out from the constant tumbles on the rock-hard ice. But he had already started this, and his pride would not allow him to quit before he finished it. He _would _skate even a few feet successfully. Even if it killed him.

Although Gray told himself he would block the idiot from his mind and vision, as he skated along he couldn't help his gaze drifting back to Natsu every now and then. He continued to watch the other boy fail and fail again to balance correctly on his skates, let alone glide successfully along the ice long enough for him to get anywhere. More than sad it was getting downright painful to watch.

Gray finally stopped in the middle of the lake. He looked off to the sides to see Erza still engrossed with her fancy tricks worthy enough for the winter Olympics, Lucy finally convinced by Loki to skate side by side with him, and the brother and sister pair still gliding along happily together. It was honestly a big lake, so even if the others were noticing Natsu's flops, unless they really stared for a while they probably didn't pay it as much mind as Gray was. To them Natsu was just bad at skating. But Gray was beginning to see a sense of desperation grow within the other, mixed in with the frustration and humiliation. And…it wasn't as fun to watch as Gray thought it would be…

He let out a deep sigh, and drew his gaze back to Natsu once again, who was now on his knees trying to recover from another spill. A part of him _really _hated to do this, but…

Gray skated back over to Natsu's direction, hands in his pockets, trying to be casual about it. Natsu didn't even see him approach until he was right there in front of him again. But before Natsu could say anything Gray wordlessly held out a hand.

And this time Natsu hesitated. Still on his hands and knees, he stared at the outstretched hand before him with a cautious yet weary gaze, like a wounded animal being offered food. But Gray was patient. He said nothing, wouldn't even smile, just waited.

Finally, Natsu's gaze shifted to the side, as a small pink tinged his cheeks….and he reluctantly took the offered hand.

A faint smile graced the other's lips as he pulled Natsu to his feet. As the smaller boy stumbled Gray set both hands on either side of the other's arms to keep him steady.

"First of all, you need to calm down," Gray began, and Natsu glared, "If you keep getting frustrated over it you're just messing yourself up. Look at my feet. Just keep them apart wide enough to balance on the blades."

As Gray spoke, he let go of one of Natsu's arms to slide over to the side, and all of a sudden Natsu tensed up.

"W-wait, what are you doing?"

"You're going to skate, stupid," Gray replied promptly, and with one hand gripping Natsu's arm and the other on his back, he began pushing the other boy forward as he skated alongside him.

"W-w-wait wait you're going too fast!" Natsu shrieked as his legs felt shaky and without thinking he clung to Gray's arm in an iron grip, looking down fearfully at the ice below.

The sudden action made Gray stumble…as well as a sudden heat rise to his face, but he managed to keep his balance for the moment, and throw a sideways glare in Natsu's direction, "No. _You _were going too slow. This is ice! You slide! It's just like rollerblading. If you don't get a good start going you'll fall flat on your ass like you kept doing."

Natsu tore his gaze away from the ice below long enough to narrow his eyes at the other, "Shut the hell up! You know I've never done this before! It's not easy enough to—ack!" Gray had picked up speed ever so slightly, "W-wait wait!"

His grip on Gray's arm tightened and without fully realizing it he began leaning towards the other for support, but Gray wasn't expecting the sudden extra weight being pressed on his side, and he began to tilt.

"O-oi! Cut it out! You're going to make me—!" but it wasn't necessary for Gray to finish the sentence as he lost his balance on one blade, which only caused him to lose balance on the other and start falling to the ground with a straggled cry, dragging Natsu along with him.

Gray landed harshly on his side, though was able to cushion himself enough with his arm to not smack his head into the ice, but then Natsu came crashing down on top of him, and would have knocked the wind out of him if he had been on his back.

"Gh—you idiot!" Gray said as he pushed Natsu off, "If you just stand there like that without moving your legs you aren't going to learn anything!"

Sitting on the ice, careful not to cut himself with his skate's blades, Natsu retorted with a start, "What the hell? _You're _the one who just started pushing me off and expected me to skate!"

"_That's_ how you learn!" Gray exclaimed, beginning to get to his feet, "That's why I said you need to calm down! If you tense up you're just asking for a tough fall. Try trusting me a little more."

Natsu gave Gray an unnerving look, like the words were scratching on a chalkboard to his ears. But a part of him knew Gray was right. He just hated to admit it. _Loathed _to admit it.

Gray slid over on the ice and held out his hand once again, and Natsu took it with less hesitation than before.

By this time Natsu was comfortable with balancing his blades on the ice. When he wasn't moving, anyway. And as Gray moved over to his side like before, Natsu could feel the anxiety of before creep back to the front of his mind.

But to Natsu's utter surprise, Gray didn't go pushing him forward right away, and this time while one hand rested on his arm, the other was further down his back, close to his waist. …It made Natsu nervous for a whole different reason.

"Look at my feet now," Gray said, without any of the condescending or impatient tone of before, "When I push you you're going to move your legs in long strides. Just follow how I do it, alright? You won't be falling again."

"Y-yeah…" suddenly Natsu couldn't look Gray in the face. And he didn't feel like complaining about the cold anymore.

Gray then began to push Natsu forward, slower than before, leading him along the ice as he skated beside him. Natsu looked down to watch the way the other moved his legs, and bit by bit copied his movements, until both pairs of legs were nearly identical in stride. Natsu's eyes widened as he gazed down at the miracle, stunned that it was all so easy.

The smile of amusement returned to Gray's face as he watched Natsu's expression.

"See? I told you."

Natsu may or may not have heard him, being too engrossed in keeping his strides in tune with Gray's, but he smiled at the small accomplishment he had made, and inwardly Gray was glad Natsu looked a lot happier being there with them.

Gray then began picking up speed, and as he felt Natsu tense up again, he said, "It's fine, just keep copying me. You move your legs less when you go faster anyway. You can rely on just the ice sliding you along."

Natsu just nodded along, not really uneasy about speed anymore…but how close Gray happened to be to him. He wasn't sure why he was only noticing this now. Not that he minded all that much. But only because he wasn't falling this way. That's all. His face was only feeling warm because he had tied his scarf too tight…

Suddenly Gray removed the hand on Natsu's back, and moved around so he was only pulling Natsu by his arm. With an amused smile he asked, "Think you're ready to go solo?"

Natsu could feel himself flush, now fully realizing how humiliating the situation really was. With a fiery glare he retorted, "Of course!"

Gray grinned, biting back a laugh, "Alright then." And then he let go.

For a moment, Natsu's expression grew alarmed, and he almost made a move to reach out to Gray's hand again, but restrained himself as he kept his arms steady, focused his gaze to his feet, and continued with the same long strides as before. And to his surprise he was perfectly fine.

Gray's smile grew more genuine, though was unseen by Natsu, "…Congratulations. Easy isn't it? Once you get the hang of it."

Natsu's face lit up at the marvel he was experiencing, uncaring even if someone like Gray witnessed it. Yet as he looked back to up to see the taller boy skating backwards in front of him, hands behind his back, that smug look back on his face, Natsu formed a scowl.

"Show-off."

Gray just laughed.

The two of them skated along like that for a while; Natsu getting used to gliding along without having to look down at his feet moving every second, and Gray following in front of him, sometimes switching along to the sides, swapping from backwards to forwards…partly to show-off and ruffle the other's feathers…but inwardly making sure Natsu was keeping up his balance.

It was then Gray chanced a glance at his surroundings…to realize the others had abandoned them to go play in the snow nearby. Erza and Elfman looked to be in a snowball fight to the death, while Loki seemed to be helping the girls build a snowman. Leaving Gray and Natsu alone on the frozen lake.

With a mischievous grin, Gray turned to Natsu as he skated by his side, "How about a race?"

Surprise filtered through his features as Natsu turned his head to look at the other, but it quickly formed into a smirk matching Gray's, feeling the well-known spark of competition.

"You're on."

And then Gray was off. Shooting past Natsu like a bullet as he skated along in the path of a wide oval around the lake's edge.

"Bastard! No fair!" Natsu shrieked as he quickened his pace. But it was nowhere near as fast as Gray's, "Get back here!"

Gray laughed as he switched to skating backwards, and slowed down enough for Natsu to get within five feet of him, "This slow enough for you?"

Natsu gave Gray a look that could kill ten times over, and sped up even more to catch up to him. At that, Gray increased his speed again, enjoying the torment he was putting the other through, to make up for all the care of before.

It was then, however…that Natsu came up at a turn. A sharp turn. Down by the edge of the lake, where only a collision with hardened snow awaited him. Natsu became petrified once again as he began waving his arms around in a frenzy as a sad attempt to slow down to make the turn.

"How do I stop how do I stop?" he shrieked.

In a split second Gray had turned around to shoot back to Natsu with the amazing speed of before. But to Natsu's utter horror he was skating right towards him, with no signs of slowing down.

"I-idiot! We're going to crash!"

Natsu just barely got the words out of his mouth before it was all over. As Gray swiftly approached he grabbed Natsu by arm and spun him around while taking hold of the other, till both of them were spiraling rapidly on the ice, Natsu grabbing a hold on Gray's jacket as to not get too dizzy.

It was only as they slowed down to a moderate twirl that Natsu realized what had happened. They were now more towards the center of the lake, the momentum of the spin having carried them both away from the edges. And it was also then that Natsu realized how_ very _close Gray was to him. He had even buried his face into the other's chest while they had been spinning…but only because he didn't want to get dizzy. That's all.

Though Natsu couldn't see, he could feel the smile in Gray's voice as he said, "Told you you wouldn't be falling again."

His voice felt painfully dry then, so Natsu didn't answer back. But he figured Gray could pick up on the unspoken reply of thanks.

Natsu would have moved away right then, if not for Gray's arms still around him. Not that his grip had loosened much from the taller boy's jacket either…but he just didn't want to get dizzy. And it just happened to be warmer this way. That's all.

So they stayed like that, in a comfortable silence, letting the ice carry them in any direction it wished. It was chillingly quiet on the frozen lake, but neither young men minded too much. Natsu had moved so instead the side of his head was resting against the other's chest, while his gaze trailed downward to the ice below. He realized only then just how beautifully clear the ground looked. It seemed to sparkle and twinkle in the faint sunlight amidst a few clouds. Ice could be very pretty, like this, spreading out to such a large area. So blue yet so white and clear and pure. That was the only thing Natsu could admit to liking about winter and the cold. At least the snow and ice were breathtaking to look at.

Unseen by Natsu, Gray's mischievous smile returned. But for an entirely different reason this time.

Chancing a glance down at the fiery teen, he paused, before he said quietly, "…No one's watching."

Puzzled by the meaning of that statement, Natsu looked up questioningly at Gray only to have cold lips pressed against his own. The words _no one's watching _filtered through Natsu's mind as he closed his eyes and deepened the kiss with little hesitation, feeling Gray's embrace tighten ever so slightly around his slim waist. Natsu then moved his arms around Gray's neck, and all of a sudden the very last thing on his mind was how cold he was.


End file.
